SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants won t be back to full strength for some time, but they should be much closer by the time they conclude this three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

They activated right-hander Matt Cain from the disabled list and he ll take the ball against right-hander Chase Anderson in Monday s series opener. As expected, the Giants optioned right-hander Chris Stratton to Triple-A Sacramento, where he ll return to the rotation there.

The Giants also plan to activate outfielder Angel Pagan from the disabled list prior to Wednesday s series finale and give him a start. Pagan came out of two rehab games for Sacramento at El Paso with no issues while going 3 for 7; he s scheduled for one more rehab game in Sacramento on Monday.

Both Cain and Pagan were sidelined with strained hamstrings.

They ll be waiting much longer to get Hunter Pence back from his hamstring surgery, which requires an eight-week rehab process. In the meantime, there s a definite need for a right-handed hitting outfielder. The Brewers have one of the more accomplished ones in Ryan Braun, and USA Today s Bob Nightengale reported that the Giants and Brewers have had preliminary talks about a trade.

But Braun is owed $80 million plus the remainder of his $19 million salary this season, and the Brewers are not looking to dump salary per se. They would want legitimate talent in return.

The Giants already are over the $189 million threshold that will require them to pay luxury tax, and sure, that is a purely artificial salary cap. The reality is that they can spend whatever they want. But they have to balance such a large commitment for an outfielder (In his 30s, by the way) while looking at the need to rebuild their bullpen. They ll also have to renegotiate Madison Bumgarner s contract, at some point. And that could require $300 million.

The Giants have a lot of open-ended conversations with players. Maybe they didn t even bring up Braun s name. Point is, one exploratory text or phone call is a long way from Braun taking a walk from the visiting clubhouse to the home side.

Rumors are fun, but this one is a major reach. Ken Rosenthal breaks it down a little further here.

In the short term, the Giants just eked out two of three against the Dodgers despite facing three left-handed pitchers. They ll get three right-handers in this series with Milwaukee.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he wanted to stay away from using closer Santiago Casilla, who appeared in all three games of the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bochy also said Jake Peavy is getting more treatment for the neck stiffness that caused the club to hold back Albert Suarez in case he was needed to make a spot start. But Peavy is expected to make his next start, which would fall Saturday against the Rays in St. Pete.